+ Common Core Concepts +

+ 'Ecce Paries.' The speaker paused and leaned on the lectern, which creaked under the strain of supporting post-human flesh and grave-cold ceramite. Most of the assembled Olympians nodded to themselves, the slight affirmation a ghost of their extinct culture. The concept was as familiar to them as stripping a boltgun or the proper maintenance of armour. Behold the wall. The term was rhetorical, sophistic. +

+ Each of the assembled Iron Warriors completed the phrase internally, its silent recitation part of their cold secular litany. Behold the wall, and remove it from your path through the precise application of power.The concept was applied to everything, and sat rooted at the iron core of the Legion. Some of the Terran veterans privately mocked its pretension, but most accepted it at face value: a way of exploring a problem; probing it. ++ In the case of the heavy assault forces on Terra, Ecce Paries had a practical and immediate relevance. Forget the defenders. Forget the goal. Behold the walls the Imperial Fists had thrown up to prevent the Warmaster's advance, and reduce them to dust and memories through the application of firepower. Obscene, indiscriminate firepower. +

++++ More Iron Warriors ready for some paint (and bases). I've fancied building a squad of Multimelta marines for years – ever since the metal heavy weapons were released in 3rd edition in fact – and the Iron Warriors provide a perfect opportunity. +

+ The PCRC (my gaming group) have now set a date for our return to Warhammer World, and I'm aiming to have an army of Iron Warriors ready to take on Bob_Hunk and Graham Gilchrist's awesome Imperial Fists. There're a lot of big tanks and Terminators in their armies, so what better way to even the field than with radioactive microwave guns? +

+ The alternative title for this inload was 'Ecce Mouldlines' +

+ I've become quite enamoured of these heads (they're from the FW Blood Angels upgrade set), which have been kindly donated by Lucifer216, so I've been bulking up the boltgun-armed troops, too. ++ Finally for the moment, a veteran with volkite charger and another marine, who might be a Warmsith (or similar Centurion), might be a sergeant for the Multimeltas, and might just end up as a Rapier gunner. Thoughts? +

+ Carmine Muster +

+ More work on the Iron Warriors today. First up, three more Tactical Legionaries to bulk out the squad. I'm up to around fifteen now, I think, so well on the way to a core force. +

+ The shoulder pads are new releases from Master-Crafted Miniatures [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+], and I can't say enough good things about them. Great (digital?) sculpting, clean casts and reasonable prices. An excellent service; and I'm particularly grateful as I suspect these got a release owing to me continually pestering for a follow-up to the earlier large pads the company released. Can't recommend them highly enough. +

+ This chap's a veteran of Carmine Muster, who will either end up as part of a Veteran squad – I'm told volkites are optional for one in five of them – or as a dedicated Tactical Support unit. The answer will likely come after I paint up the gun and decide whether I want to paint more of them. +

+ MMXVI +

+ We're deep into 016.M03, and starting to emerge from midwinter into the new marching season, so I thought I'd pop up a post from sus-an sleep to look at what my hobby plans are for the year. +

+ Hobby time has been limited as we prepare to make the jump to warp (or more prosaically, we're moving to a new house), so apologies for the quietness of late. Nevertheless, I've been cracking on with bits and pieces for my various projects. +

Legionaries of Ancient Terra

+ The Silver Stars (or plain ol' XI Legion at the moment) are progressing; a combination of the great new plastic kits from the Betrayal at Calth box set (a triumph of a release that I hope presages more stuff in a similar vein from GW, as I really enjoy the game) with various Forge World kits. The images above and below are a bit of a preview. +

Early Crusade exo-armour

+ An mix of full army and 'what I can make from leftovers', the Silver Stars are proving a fun and refreshing project that's much more similar to how I used to build armies. The Cataphractii suits above are a good example – I've poached the legs for my true-scale Ultramarines and Iron Warriors, and used Grey Knight Terminator legs to make a serviceable unit. In fact, I think I prefer the look with these more dynamic poses – they help sell the movement of the lightning claws. +

+ The Astartes are not the only inhabitants of Terra, as the Yukatani whip-warrior shown here demonstrates. These sorts of figures will be individuals who help to add colour to the Legion, rather than forces in their own right. +

+ Of course, some of them, like this Hollow Man of the Alvuatan Stalk-kin, might well find re-use in the Court of the Sun King.+

+ Events +

+ The PCRC are planning to head up to Warhammer World in April to relive past glories (well, have a beer and a game or two), so I'll be aiming to get the Ultramarines back up to scratch so I can field them in force. The Iron Warriors won't get forgotten either, so if you'd like to pop along and see them in the plastic/resin/metal, please feel free. +

+ SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT +

+ I was sorry to hear that Wayne England, one of the great artists of 40k, and other fantasy gaming, recentlydied unexpectedly. Wayne's artwork was wonderfully grotesque and fanscinating; and suffused with a gleeful sense of tongue-in-cheek humour. His work on Warhammer 40,000 and Blood Bowl in particular helped to inspire me, so my thoughts go out to his friends and family. +